Graduation Application

To be eligible to graduate, students must successfully submit a graduation application through CUNYFirst. Step-by-step instructions are below. Your degree will be conferred once your academic record has been audited to ensure that you have completed all degree requirements for the Juris Doctor degree.

  1. Log into your CUNYFirst account at https://home.cunyfirst.cuny.edu/
  2. Go to Student Center
  3. Under Academics, click the “Other Academics” drop-down box near your class schedule.
  4. Click “Apply for Graduation.”
  5. Select the term you want to apply for, then click continue
  6. After that, click “Submit Application”

The graduation application in CUNYFirst is open only during specific timeframes between each conferral period. The Office of Registration and Student Records will notify graduating students of these dates via their CUNY Law email.

Degree Conferral Information

Degrees are conferred three times a year:

  • January (finishing in the Fall term of the previous year)
  • June (finishing in the Spring term of the same year)
  • August (finishing in the Summer session of the same year)

Exact conferral dates vary by year. The Office of Registration & Student Records will confirm official dates via email to graduating students.

Please note: “Graduation” and “degree conferral” refer to the official date your degree is awarded. “Commencement” is the annual ceremony held in late May to celebrate this achievement. Attendance at Commencement does not guarantee that your degree has been conferred. For more information about the ceremony, please visit our Commencement website.

Important Notes:

Once degrees are posted, no grade changes can be processed.

Students who graduate as of August or January will appear in the Commencement Program of the following year.

Once your degree has been conferred, you can request an official transcript to verify your graduation status to third parties. When requesting your transcript, you can elect to hold the order until your degree has been awarded.

Diplomas

CUNY Law partners with Parchment, a secure digital credentialing service, to issue diplomas. Within 3–4 weeks of your degree conferral, you will receive an email from Parchment at your CUNY Law address with instructions on how to access your digital diploma.

A printed diploma will also be mailed to the address you have listed in CUNYFirst within 6–8 weeks of your degree conferral. Please allow an additional 2–4 weeks for delivery if the mailing address is outside the United States.

The CUNY Law diploma measures 11 inches by 14 inches in landscape format.

Order Replacement Diploma

If you have lost or damaged your diploma, please return the damaged diploma to our office and request a duplicate diploma through Parchment our vendor at this link: Replacement Diploma.

Guide to Your Preferred Name on Your Diploma

We understand that your diploma carries personal, professional, and symbolic significance—including how it reflects your identity.

We also recognize that many professional and legal systems still rely on documentation that may not reflect your affirmed name. The guidance below is intended to help you navigate those systems as you prepare to enter the legal profession.

Please review this information carefully, and don’t hesitate to reach out to the contacts listed below if you have questions or need support.

  • As a law student, you should consider licensing requirements that often require you to use your legal name, such as State Bar applications and federal employment guidelines. Using a name other than your legal name could result in the rejection, delay, scrutiny, and/or requirements for additional proof of identification associated with any applications for employment, licensure, credentialing, visa applications, and/or processes that require verification of your education records. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Sam Sue, Director, Career Planning, at sue@law.cuny.edu.
  • You may need to use your diploma in conjunction with your official transcript for legal, immigration, or employment purposes. You could experience complications if the name on your diploma doesn’t match other documents like your transcript, passport, or birth certificate. These potential complications are something to consider if you plan to live, study, or work outside the United States. International students should contact International Student Services, iss@law.cuny.edu, for any questions or concerns.
  • If you need to request a new diploma with your legal name at any point, you will need to order a replacement diploma through the Registrar’s Office, Parchment website. A replacement diploma costs $50.00 and will have a “Duplicate” designation. If you have any questions about this process, please contact the Registrar’s Office at registraroffice@law.cuny.edu.
  • Under CUNY policy, preferred names are limited to first and middle names; students may not choose a preferred last name. If your legal last name has changed and you would like it reflected on your diploma, please complete a Personal Data Change Request Form and submit it to the Registrar’s Office (registraroffice@law.cuny.edu), along with your documentation confirming this change. For guidance on how to conduct a legal name change, you can visit this page.
  • Third parties cannot verify your degree through the National Student Clearinghouse if your diploma lists a preferred name that is different from your legal name. Degree and enrollment verifications are conducted using your full legal name.
  • A diploma apostille can only be issued using the graduate’s full legal name.
  • *Please note that transcripts will continue to display legal names, as they are considered official student records.